2018 Fasting Guide – Day Twelve

“WARSHIP”

Most Christians think of worship as something we do when we come together on Sunday morning. We’ve learned that worship helps us endure trials and empowers us for witnessing. However, did you know that worship aids us in spiritual warfare as well? The worship and praise of Almighty God gives us victory over the enemy! We may be facing something challenging right now. But so were Jehoshaphat and the people of Israel. Their enemies were ganging up against them.

1 It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat. 2 Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi). 3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
2 Chronicles 20:1-3 NKJV

Jehoshaphat was scared by the situation at hand. A great multitude was coming against him. Yep, sometimes we all feel that way! But Jehoshaphat was smart! His first reaction was to set himself to seek the Lord. He charged himself to do what he needed to do to concentrate on the Lord, to get His wisdom and His help. And he called a fast, and that is what we are doing!
Jehoshaphat knew that he and ALL the people needed to get ALL IN with who God was and what He could do, because in their own strength they could not win this battle, but WITH GOD they could! They just needed to find out the necessary strategy! This is my favorite depiction of this scene: Jahaziel, a Levite (priest) stood before all of them and he began to deliver the Word of the Lord to them:

And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.’”
2 Chronicles 20:15 NKJV

That is awesome! The Levite continued with direction from God.

“Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel.”
2 Chronicles 20:16 NKJV

God was letting them in on the strategy of the enemy, and in His strategy to defeat the enemy.

“You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem! Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”
2 Chronicles 20:17 NKJV

God said, “Position yourself.” That position wasn’t to gear up with all the normal warfare gear. No! The Lord had a plan, and when this was spoken by the Spirit of God through Jahaziel, there was an atmosphere of faith released and it caused something to occur that they didn’t plan. It was just a “happening.”

18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.
2 Chronicles 20:18-19 NKJV

The high praises of God broke out from grateful hearts because they knew their God was on their side and that is what gave them the confidence to go forth. And they just kept praising and honoring Him!

So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.”
2 Chronicles 20:20 NKJV

Get ALL IN! In believing in your Lord and in what He says through the prophets!
Now this is a familiar scripture to us, but do you realize what is really going on here? He is declaring the weapons that are necessary. Believe—trust as we learned yesterday—and position yourself with praise! Then, GET ALL IN with PRAISE! The spiritual weapon needed!

And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the Lord, For His mercy endures forever.”
2 Chronicles 20:21 NKJV

This wasn’t just releasing worship; it was releasing the “WARSHIP!” Look what happened:

22 Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. 23 For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
2 Chronicles 20:22-23 NKJV

The enemy destroyed the enemies! Isn’t that great?

So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.
2 Chronicles 20:24 NKJV

Not one of their enemies survived the onslaught of WARSHIP! LOL! AND not only did God defeat the enemy totally, but He had them leave all their stuff for His people to gather up for themselves!

When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables on the dead bodies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much.
2 Chronicles 20:25 NKJV

There was so much stuff laying around it took 3 days to get it all, and it was more than they could even carry. Let’s believe for that during this time of fasting and WARSHIP!

26 And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah, for there they blessed the Lord; therefore the name of that place was called the Valley of Berachah until this day. 27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies.
2 Chronicles 20:26-27 NKJV

They started with praise, and they continued to praise, and they brought others into their praise to continue the victory!

So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of the Lord.
2 Chronicles 20:28 NKJV

Now I believe that this is what God wants to do again! He wants us to position ourselves before Him, to hear from Him what He has to say. We have done this, and we know that this year our focus is to be ALL IN. But what better way to be ALL IN than to be focused on His goodness and cry out with our praise of the beauty of His holiness and that His mercy endures forever! It will defeat the enemy when we come into agreement as one, with all that He is in our mind and our hearts, and we release it with all that we are.
I believe “warship” will cause a movement—here and everywhere the Body of Christ is gathered in praising His Holy name and concentrating on Him. Take special time to worship today and release the “warship” and then when we are together in the house of the Lord, don’t hold back! Let those praises ring and defeat the enemy!